Published: July 13, 2026
Reader’s discretion: Disturbing image below.
JOHNSONVILLE, Montserrado County — Police have detained two staff members of a community clinic, one of whom allegedly could not produce a valid practicing license, after a Johnsonville mother reported that a routine circumcision left her 6-month-old son bleeding for days and unable to urinate.
Docus Ballah says she took her son, Miracle Sacon, to Leo Success Community Clinic on July 2 for the procedure. What followed, she alleges, were days of bleeding, pain, and an “over-cut” that left the child struggling to pass urine.
“That very night when he did the work, we went home, but my son was just crying. To even pee, it wasn’t easy,” Ballah told reporters. The next day, she said, the family rushed back to the facility and spent another night there, but the child’s condition kept deteriorating.
Clinic officials later advised her to transfer the child to John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital for further treatment, Ballah said, with a promise to cover the bills.
“They called me to ‘hang head’ which I firstly rejected, but we later resolved for us to go to JFK,” she said.
Despite that agreement, Ballah claims she was left to shoulder the cost alone. After repeated failed attempts to get a response from the clinic, her sister, Sarah Marwolo, took the matter public online to demand accountability.
“I was abandoned, despite repeated efforts to get the clinic live up to their commitment,” Ballah said.
The botched circumcision on a six-month-old
Doctors at JFK have since intervened, and the child’s condition is now reported as stable. The family says it is awaiting a formal medical report.
Clinic officials in custody
The case is now in the hands of law enforcement. Two staff of Leo Success Clinic, Officer-in-Charge Umaru Kai and Physician Assistant Daniel Kollie, are detained at Zone 11, Depot 3 in Johnsonville, following a formal complaint filed by Marwolo.
Police sources say Kollie was detained after he allegedly failed to produce a valid practicing license when questioned. Kai was detained for allegedly allowing an unlicensed worker to perform medical procedures at the facility.
Efforts to reach the clinic’s administration for comment were unsuccessful. Staff on duty said the administrator was unavailable because the OIC remains in police custody pending investigation.
Conflicting claims, pending investigation
Key facts remain unsettled. Images of the child taken after treatment at JFK and shared with this paper appear to contradict the mother’s claim of a “complete cut” of the child’s penis. No official medical report had been released by JFK as of press time.
Health authorities have not commented on the case, and the Liberia Medical and Dental Council has not confirmed whether the individuals involved were licensed to perform the procedure.
Circumcision is a standard surgical procedure in which the foreskin covering the tip of the penis is removed. In Liberia, it is performed both for medical reasons and, for older boys, as part of cultural rites of passage.
The matter is expected to resume Monday, July 13, at Zone 11, Depot 3, in Johnsonville, as police continue their preliminary investigation.
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